Looking at some contemporary reports of Wimbledon in 1978, it appears that Evonne Cawley had been having a problem with a sore left ankle, more specifically the Achilles tendon, in the run-up to the tournament. However, she beat some good players, including Janet Newberry and Regina Marsikova, on her way to the quarter-finals of the singles event. Evonne also took part in the women’s doubles event at Wimbledon that year, with Betty Stove, and they were seeded no. 2 (Evonne withdrew from that event in the round of 16, doubtless to save herself for the singles).
On Monday, July 3, Virginia Ruzici reached the quarter-finals of the singles event by defeating Betty Stove, 5-7, 6-4, 6-3. After that match Virginia said, “I had never won a match at Wimbledon, and here I am in the quarters. I have been looking forward to it so much, since I saw the draw. But at first I didn’t dare to look that far ahead. I have nothing to lose and I will fight hard.”
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The quarter-final match between Evonne Cawley, the no. 3 seed, and Virginia Ruzici, who was seeded 13, took place on Court no. 3 on Tuesday, July 4. Rex Bellamy, then tennis correspondent of the London ‘Times’, had this to say about it in the following day’s newspaper:
“Mrs Cawley has been bothered by her left heel. Yesterday she had a pain-killing injection. But when 2-5 down to Virginia Ruzici, she was in such pain that she began to cry, went to the umpire’s chair as if to retire, but was consoled and encouraged by her husband – and wiped the tears away and won.
“This incident disturbed Miss Ruzici’s concentration and arrested her momentum. She lost five consecutive games. In the second set she led 3-0, but lost six consecutive games. What a lovely, instinctive talent for tennis Mrs Cawley has. She reads no score, but hits all the right notes. She is a jazz musician masquerading as a tennis player.”
So it appears that Evonne Cawley had been receiving injections for her left ankle, not actually during matches, but before them. Roger Cawley appears just to have offered words of advice and encouragement when he spoke to Evonne during the match with Virginia Ruzici.
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There was no rest for Evonne, who had to take on Martina Navratilova on Centre Court the next day, Wednesday, July 5, 1978. Unfortunately for Evonne, her ankle acted up at a crucial point in the match, as reported by Rex Bellamy:
“Mrs Cawley, too, had a run of four consecutive games. During this phase of her first set with Martina Navratilova, the Australian’s game was a series of flowing improvisations. Off-stage, somebody should have been playing New Orleans jazz. Mrs Cawley was making music; underscored, but with a firm melodic line of haunting beauty. There was nothing Miss Navratilova could do. She was made to look relatively awkward and stereotyped. Mrs Cawley looked slim and fit, and was playing like a dream. We knew about the bother around her Achilles tendon, about the pain-killing injections. But in this form, she would not have to stay on court long.
“Miss Navratilova, though, is now mature enough to tolerate adversity without being overwhelmed by it. She no longer behaves as if hostile, invisible forces are moving the lines and changing the height of the net. She is a big, strong woman who plays shots to match – and she never lost faith in them. She precariously thumped her way to a 4-0 lead in the second set. Mrs Cawley’s lateral running was inhibited. She was reluctant to turn quickly on that left foot. Her marvellous instinct for tennis remained intact. But it was not much use to her unless she could reach the ball. She bounced back from 1-5 to 4-5 in the second set. But she lost it.
“In the third set there was a break each way. Miss Navratilova had a third break point, Mrs Cawley two more. The crowd were expectantly quiet, awaiting a dramatic climax – or perhaps afflicted by frostbite. As Mrs Cawley hit a forehand lob to hold her service for 4-3, she yelped with pain. She grasped her left leg, head bowed, then limped to the umpire’s chair, wiping away the tears. She scored only four more points. To her credit, she stayed on her feet until the end, instead of quitting. That, at least, was a courtesy to her opponent. Whether she should have gone on court in the first place is a moot point. But you know what Australians are. As long as they can stand up, they can fight.”
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